As this episode of Crime begins, a jogger finds something that stops him in his tracks. Ray Lennox (Dougray Scott) returns home where he finds Fraser’s friends sleeping. Ray tells Fraser (Gabriel Scott) to get this sorted out before he receives a call. At the scene, Ray learns that Norrie Erskine (Brian McCardie) has been killed. Amanda Drummond (Joanna Vanderham) joins him and they briefly talk about last night. Amanda tells him to lighten up. Bob Toal (Ken Stott) arrives and complains about the tent as Struthers (Sani Mamood) looks on from nearby. Struthers comes over and confesses to take it. Maria Pearson (Moyo Akande) goes over Norrie’s injuries.

The murder is exactly like Richie’s murder, but Norrie’s eyelids have been cut off using surgical scissors. “And then there were none” is carved into his chest. Ray tells Bob that Norrie was lying to them. Norrie’s vehicle is searched and the knife is discovered. Tommy Stark (David Elliot) and the others return to the station. Ray says Norrie doesn’t fit the killer’s pattern although Norrie lied about his movements on the night of Richie’s murder. Ray suspects he saw something so his eyelids were cut off. Tommy and Amanda argue about Norrie lying and being the victim. Sophie Lawrence-Brown (Shereen Cutkelvin) is told to follow up on the CCTV from the warehouse. Tommy tells Ray that it’s likely Angus was the last person to have seen Norrie alive. Amanda questions Angus who says he met Norrie last night at his restaurant, Gastronomic.

Angus held out for CC’s. An old mate had some ching so they took it. Angus believes Norrie was going through something heavy. He only remembers that Norrie went to a strip club where the girls knew him as Uncle Norrie. After the interview, Angus speaks to Ray about Norrie and last night. Angus believes Jackie stopped loving him at some point. He goes on to say she’s sleeping with someone. Angus is adamant he’s never had affairs. Ray wants Fraser out of his flat tonight. Amanda tells Tommy that Angus confirmed he left him after CC Blooms. Tommy starts mentioning the church. They visit strip clubs to try to find out where Norrie went. Lindy says Norrie liked to watch you have sex with your boyfriend. He never touched her or Alistair. Norrie just watched and wanked.

Alistair is an accountancy student at Heroit-Watt. He wanted Lindy (Fergie Fraser) to declare them as revenue expenses but they didn’t. The woman in charge, Mrs. Manderson (Kika Mirylees), agrees to give them her CCTV from last night. Gillian (Sarah McCardie) gets a card from Sophie saying she knows about Celeste. She walks over to ask Sophie about it with Struthers nearby. Sophie asks her to look at something. Ray, Tommy, and Amanda check Norrie’s flat. They find a bunch of porn VHS tapes and clowns. Ray finds hidden VHS tapes. One has 12 – 13 years written on the label. Ray immediately believes it’s child porn. Amanda wonders if that’s what links all the victims. The book, 120 Days of Sodom, is sitting on a desk nearby. When Amanda picks it up, papers fall out. They are from someone who has been threatening to tell on Norrie.

Someone has something else over Norrie. They find a postcard mentioning Auld Lang Syne. Ray believes it’s about all the New Year’s they spent together. He says they should speak to Moira. When they arrive, they find Jackie with her. Moira claims she doesn’t know Norrie at all. Ray shows her one of the postcards. She shows Ray a picture of the last gathering at the Adrie House Hotel in December 1992. Moira believes funny things happen when boys become men. She doesn’t know why it ended because she wasn’t there that year. It wasn’t really working for any of the women by the end. At the station, the team talks about Norrie being blackmailed. Ray suggests Norrie went to the warehouse to confront the killer on the night of Richie’s death. They still need to find out what connects Gulliver to the others. Amanda explains they need to find out where Norrie was on Hogmanay of 1992.

Sophie tells Ray there’s something he should see. She shows him video on the night of Richie’s murder. Norrie seems to be following a car. The driver of the followed car is the same man from the restaurant. Sophie is surprised the vehicle was his own car. It belongs to a man named Victor Maslow. Ray remembers him. Gillian tells Ray he’s not going to believe this. She called the Adrie House Hotel and got the records from December 1992. Norrie requested them yesterday so they already had them. Bob begins whining once again. He tells Ray to at least pretend to care. Ray is concerned Maslow will slip off into the sunset. He says it’s revenge although the killer is acting like it’s some social justice crap. Amanda interrupts to say Norrie worked at the hotel in December 1992.

Amanda asks Tony Moston (Michael Cooke) if he knows a former employee, Norman Erskine (Brian McCardie). Tony suggests speaking with Michelle Ritchie (Gabriel Quigley) because she has been an employee there for years. Elsewhere, Angus (John McLarnon) arrives home with a bouquet of flowers and a gift bag for Jackie (Emma Currie). He embraces, who he believes is Jackie with a towel on her head, from behind to get a terrified response from Moira Gulliver (Fiona Bell), holding a knife. Jackie races down the stairs and scolds him for barging into her house. He demands to know what is going on. As Moira turns to leave, Angus offers his condolences for her loss of Ritchie.

Michelle claims Norman inappropriately touched her but she didn’t mind. She tells Amanda and Ray that a former employee alleged Norman and several high-paying guests assaulted her. She always believed the girl’s allegation and promises to look through her Christmas party photos. Elsewhere, Jackie watches Angus with disgust as he eats with his fingers. She says their marriage ended a long time ago. He reminds her of their children who need them.

Ray believes Victor Maslow (Dylan Blore) is getting revenge for abused women. Amanda suggests Victor views his victims as sexual predators. He compliments her achievements as a detective. She attributes it to him before inviting him to have sex with her again to see if it is less complicated. He admits to letting both of them down. A short time later, Ray apologizes to Sally Hart (Laura Fraser) for kissing her. She asks why he did it. He claims to have needed to feel good before telling her about Norman’s murder. He claims to have an understanding of the killer who he believes is making the world safer. While having a flashback of the tunnel, he describes his assailants as “monsters.” Weeing, he vows to bring them to justice. Sally reminds him that there is no evidence to convict the men. She urges him to let it go which he refuses to do because he wants revenge.

Keith (Ewan Miller) opens his door to see an angry Tommy armed with a bat. At Peppers Sandwich Bar, Amanda tells Helena Chapman (Kim Chapman) that she has decided to appear on her podcast. Elsewhere, Tommy warns Keith and Cressida (Natalie Mae Kelly) that they are in a lot of trouble. He hits Keith with the bat. Keith bends over in pain, sits down, and holds up his hands in defense. Cressida says Amanda needs to pay for traumatizing them. Keith claims Amanda sent them pornography and forced him to do things with her. Tommy hits him with the bat and demands to see the porno tape. At Peppers Sandwich Bar, Helena expresses her desire to take down Tommy and accuses Amanda of only seeking her out because she needs something from her.

After watching Amanda’s porno tape, Tommy claims to be a disciple of Jesus like Keith and Cressida. He says it is sinful to blackmail Amanda. Keith and Cressida blame each other for their situation. Tommy intervenes and urges them to forgive like in the Bible. Keith quotes Matthew 6:14. Tommy calls Amanda a “sinner” and demands everything they have on her. Elsewhere, Ray tells Lauren Fairchild (Rebecca Root) that he wasn’t ready to come back to work. She says therapy keeps him trapped in his trauma and attributes her being alive to her quitting therapy. He insists Sally has kept him going. Lauren claims he is the best man she has ever met.

During a therapy session, Victor asks Sally about her relationship with Ray. She assures him that Ray is nothing more than a client. He warns that protecting a monster turns you into a monster. He says that person must be stopped. Elsewhere, Ray asks Fraser to go home. Fraser voices concern about his mental health. Raising his voice, Ray demands he leave and calls him a “self-indulgent clown.” At the police station, Tommy warns Amanda against coming in for her shift tomorrow. After shoving him, she collects herself and stresses the need for them to be able to work together. He tells her that he knows about her sex tape. She plays a recording of him and a witness having sex which is a crime. They make a deal, whichever one of them doesn’t get the “Super Job” must transfer.

Ray watches Sally enter a building when he receives a text – “The world is disintegrating. And it’s taking us all with it. See you soon” – from an unknown sender. Elsewhere, Jasper and Victor are at a party together. The episode ends.

 

Crime Review

Every aspect of the story revolves around sex. Lennox is a pathetically unlikable character. I’m sick of him wallowing in self-pity and taking his anger out on his friends and family. Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh cannot seem to move past Ray’s trauma. Is it because they know the audience connects with insufferable, miserable characters like Ray and Angus?

The episode deserves 4.5 out of 10. Get more Crime recaps here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.